{"id":647,"date":"2026-05-19T09:01:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T09:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=647"},"modified":"2026-05-19T09:01:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T09:01:25","slug":"miami-pastor-speaks-at-d-c-rally-merging-prayer-politics-and-u-s-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=647","title":{"rendered":"Miami pastor speaks at D.C. rally merging prayer, politics and U.S. history"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A Miami megachurch pastor joined prominent religious and political leaders Sunday in Washington, D.C. at a rally promoting a Christian framing of U.S. history and calling for a national spiritual revival.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=645\">Miami-Dade man sent bullet \u2018whizzing\u2019 into neighbor\u2019s bathroom, deputies say<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Thousands flocked to the National Mall in D.C. to attend \u201cRededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise &amp; Thanksgiving,\u201d a religious event that was touted by the Trump administration as a way to celebrate the country\u2019s 250th birthday \u201cwith Scripture, testimony, and prayer,\u201d and honor \u201cthe faith that inspired America\u2019s founders.\u201d Many of the speakers pushed forth the narrative that the United States was founded explicitly as a Christian nation, a Christian Nationalist framing of American history that is disputed by many scholars.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Pastor Samuel Rodriguez of New Season Church opened the event declaring the goal of the day was to reflect on the nation\u2019s history and to realign its future in God\u2019s name.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmerica is not done with God and God is not done with America,\u201d said Rodriguez who is the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Apostle Guillermo Maldonado, who heads King Jesus Ministry (El Rey Jes\u00fas) in Kendall \u2014 one of the largest Hispanic megachurches in South Florida with a large international following \u2014 spoke to the crowd about the power of miracles, the second coming of Jesus and the need for a new \u201cspiritual awakening\u201d in America.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFather, we ask you today, and we proclaim that you have not finished with America. I declare that Jesus is the Lord and king upon America. America, you must be revived in awakening,\u201d Maldonado said during a prayer.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Attendees heard speeches from political leaders, including President Donald Trump who sent a pre-recorded video where he read a chapter from the Old Testament book of II Chronicles. House speaker Mike Johnson, who in the past has said the country\u2019s founders \u201cwanted to protect the church from an encroaching state, not the other way around,\u201d appeared in person and spoke about moments in our nation\u2019s history where the role of God was evident.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Johnson has been a strong advocate for ending the Johnson Amendment, a long-standing tax policy that prohibits religious institutions from endorsing political candidates.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Miami pastor preaches about spiritual revival<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Maldonado spoke fervently about \u201cGod\u2019s supernatural power,\u201d to heal all ailments and sins, including personal as well as what he called the \u201cnation\u2019s sins.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The pastor said the country\u2019s two greatest needs right now are, \u201cthe need of a spiritual awakening and the need of a spiritual revival. There\u2019s no revival without repentance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Maldonado is well-known in Miami for hosting intense services at his West Kendall church that often involve speaking in tongues and channeling the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=644\">Fans can now shop for soccer merch at first FIFA World Cup store in Miami Beach<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Maldonado, who goes by \u201cApostle,\u201d has long been a supporter of Trump, who visited King Jesus church in 2019 during a campaign event, and often promotes the mingling of the role of the church in political spaces. Maldonado is aligned with a movement of Christianity some religious scholars call \u201cIndependent Charismatic Christians,\u201d which blends Pentecostal practices with modern-day Evangelicalism, and its followers believe some leaders are apostles or prophets who have God-given gifts, like the power to heal the afflicted or channel the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The pastor\u2019s mention of \u201crevival\u201d could refer to his desire for Christianity to be imposed in a global way, according to writings from religious scholar Matthew Taylor, who studies Christian Nationalism.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In his book on the subject, \u201cThe Violent Take it By Force,\u201d Taylor describes these types of \u201crevivals\u201d as spiritually-led movements that charismatic Christians believe will \u201chelp to trigger a wholesale transformation of society.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have never encountered any section of Christianity so singularly preoccupied with revival as Independent Charismatics,\u201d Taylor writes. \u201cThey pray for revival, prophesy about revival, strategize for revival, study revival history, and hanker for a bracing new work of God.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>For many interfaith groups and religious freedom advocates, including national groups like Interfaith Alliance, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the Rededicate 250 event misrepresented American history and the nation\u2019s constitutional protections against imposing one type of religion for all.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Interfaith Alliance\u2019s president and CEO, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush told the Miami Herald that he viewed the event as more of a political rally than an event to celebrate the nation\u2019s founding ideals, which he sees as ones that promote freedom for all religious expressions.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cInstead of offering a way to unite America under the broad understanding of democracy, which makes space for all of us, it was really about shrinking who belongs, which is really the Christian Nationalist Project,\u201d said Raushenbush, who clarified that Christian Nationalism is not about being a Christian and loving one\u2019s country, as some argue, but a political ideology that advocates for Christians to have \u201ca privileged position in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Raushenbush said the event was a \u201cmissed opportunity\u201d to tell the nation\u2019s unique origin story and our founders\u2019 true intentions of establishing a democracy that promotes religious pluralism.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt our founding we had people of all different religious backgrounds, and we should be rededicating to the Constitution, rededicating to this idea of what our founders really meant, which was freedom,\u201d said Raushenbush.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><i>This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and donors in South Florida\u2019s Jewish and Muslim communities, including Khalid and Diana Mirza and the Mohsin and Fauzia Jaffer Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=642\">UF search committee taps ex-Alabama president Stuart Bell to lead the university<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thousands gathered on the National Mall in Washington D.C. for Rededicate 250 as Miami pastor Guillermo Maldonado urged a national spiritual awakening and revival.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miami-dade-county"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Miami pastor speaks at D.C. rally merging prayer, politics and U.S. history - 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